Cigar Lounges

[trying]

I quite fancy a visit to a cigar lounge, using my upcoming birthday as an excuse, have had a recomendation but never having been to one was wondering if I could benefit from a little of the assembled wisdom...

[PeeJay]

Where you are would be a good start.....

[trying]

Apologies peejay. I'm home counties and the recommendation is in London.

[PeeJay]

I only ever go to JJ Fox or Dunhills, both in St James St, SW1. Some of the other guys will point you towards the establishments where alcohol is served if you so desire.

[trying]

I've had a couple of recommendations now for Ten Manchester St. I had in mind a relaxed smoke and drink before going on somewhere for dinner...

[JoeyGunz]

Ten Manchester Street is good until 9pm becuase you can smoke your own.

Big fan of The Mayfair for an occasion.

Went to the Corinthia last night, which is great for me because it's a train into Waterloo and a short stroll over the bridge, happy for you to smoke your own and a good drink and snack menu with no minimum spend. Just get a seat next to one of the fireplaces.

[RobBooth]

What, generally are the rules in these places? My local B&M has a sampling lounge, you're only allowed to smoke what you've bought from them.

[groundhog]

Imho Ten Manchester Street is shite. Rude staff.
And me [MENTION=13403818]SilentBOb[/MENTION] and [MENTION=13417001]Undercover[/MENTION] were asked to leave - they didn't like we were smoking our own - even though we'd more than made the minimum spend, which they reminded us of every five minutes.
Intrusive, rude, overbearing and worth steering clear of.
+1 for JJs or 1a

[groundhog]

What, generally are the rules in these places? My local B&M has a sampling lounge, you're only allowed to smoke what you've bought from them.

Yup - that's the case, as it's the exception by which it's allowed to happen indoors.

[RobBooth]

Yup - that's the case, as it's the exception by which it's allowed to happen indoors.

Will they generally turn a blind eye if you buy sticks from them but smoke one of your own? More than happy to spend money with them but sometimes they don't have what you want to smoke.

[groundhog]

Will they generally turn a blind eye if you buy sticks from them but smoke one of your own? More than happy to spend money with them but sometimes they don't have what you want to smoke.

It depends, I think - if you buy a party short and they come in and you're smoking a bhk 56, they might notice!
However, if you're sensible, I think all is well. When I've been, I've smoked aged stuff they have rather than my own - but others have bought something and then smoked their own - and nothing was said.

[sheppsea]

I'm not sure how happy they'd be if you smoked a cigar they don't sell, you are meant to be sampling one of their products afterall. It would also be illegal, we lucky to be allowed to sample still so I would respect the law rather than try to push it

Whether you'd get caught or not is of course another question...

[JoeyGunz]

Yeah I'd stick to using cigar shop lounges for sampling.
Use the hotel's COSA's to smoke your won and enjoy a drink.

[RobBooth]

I'm not sure how happy they'd be if you smoked a cigar they don't sell, you are meant to be sampling one of their products afterall. It would also be illegal, we lucky to be allowed to sample still so I would respect the law rather than try to push it

Whether you'd get caught or not is of course another question...

I'm more than happy to follow the rules of my local B&M with their sampling lounge. As it's the only one I've experienced so far, my question really should have been what are the rules for other places or the places mentioned in the thread?

[gangstarrrrr]

Churchill Hotel in Portman Square has a good collection, well looked after with a very nice COSA. Prices are fairly reasonable too. Open till 1am most days.